Mark Patinkin: Trump press turns into chaotic mob

Many in the media have said Donald Trump was thin-skinned at his Wednesday press conference and disrespectful to reporters.

Oh, and peevish too — when he refused to let CNN's guy ask a question.

They might even be right.

But you know what?

The reporters were even more disrespectful.

More thin-skinned and combative. At times even obnoxious.

And weirdly unable to ask a simple, succinct question.

In short, the press conference made "us" look like a loud, bad-mannered, even amateurish mob.

Some say the reporters had no choice — it was set up as a free-for-all, unlike President Barack Obama's press conferences, where there was a pre-arranged list of reporters he called on. The Trump people supposedly wanted the media to shout over each other.

Maybe. But that doesn’t mean they had to. I took a moment to watch some John F. Kennedy press conferences, where there was no set order, and everyone was civil.

And let's be honest — the press pack's behavior on Wednesday wasn't some aberration. It's been common for reporters to yell as a mob at candidates during the campaign — and at Trump since.

The low point of Wednesday's press conference was when CNN reporter Jim Acosta began badgering Trump after he accused the network of peddling fake news.

Acosta popped up and said, "Since you’re attacking us, can you give us a question? Mr. President-elect ..."

Trump refused and tried to call on another reporter in the shouting mob.

But Acosta interrupted five more times, until Trump told him, “Don’t be rude.”

Then Acosta interrupted twice more.

And ever since, CNN's been hyper-defensive about it all.

Kind of ironic. Almost daily, the media call out Trump for being thin-skinned, but when he gives it back to us, we're worse.

I've seen many commenters saying it's a dangerous precedent that Trump shunned CNN because of its coverage. Oh, please. Presidents often cherry-pick which reporters they prefer. And no one's being shut out here. Hours later, top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway gave a very long interview to CNN's Anderson Cooper on the subject.

The truth is, many reporters were shut out at the press conference, but not by Trump — by their own colleagues' long-windedness.

Hundreds of reporters were there, but only a few got to ask questions, because those who did went on forever. They acted like teenagers rushing to squeeze in three or more questions in what came off as mini-lectures with a gotcha tone.

One guy began with "First of all ..." Really? That's how you start a question?

Later, in a single hyperactive blast, another asked about border security, a Trump tweet, the intelligence community, three angles on the Supreme Court, back to the border fence ... until Trump finally jumped in and began to answer.

Which he did often, but not just out of impatience. It was more like, "All right already — I got it, I got it." It's embarrassing when those doing the interviewing don't know how to shut up.

No one's denying that the media's role is to challenge power, not kiss the ring. But to do it chaotically, with little discipline — and then get hyper-defensive afterward — only makes us look obnoxious to the public.

Which undermines our credibility far more than anything Donald Trump says about us.